The Convict's Child

When a timid servant named Norah Peele receives word that her former companion Sophy Puller lies blind, ill, and desperate in a workhouse, she is forced to confront both old mistakes and a painful duty. With help from her family and the self-sacrificing Bible teacher Persis Meade, Norah sets out to visit the girl who once tempted her toward vanity and wrongdoing, only to find a broken soul in place of the lively friend she remembered. In the frosty light of New Year's, Ned Franks emerges as a quiet moral center, his own hardship and faith sharpening his sympathy as he arranges Persis's aid and reflects on Christian hope amid family worries and daily burdens. At the workhouse, Sophy's story unfolds in full: her father's arrest, the shame of discovery, her terrified flight from town, and the disastrous choice that left her fever-stricken, blind, and condemned to pauper life. As Norah listens with compassion and Persis offers gentle spiritual comfort, the novel explores fallen pride, remorse, charity, and the hard struggle to believe that mercy can still reach the most despairing heart. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.